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Swiss Elections Unmask Bigotry
For most of us, Switzerland evokes images of green hillsides, rotund dairy cows, and Julie Andrews, not rock-throwing protesters and tear gas. But that was the scene in Bern this weekend when demonstrators from the country's ultra-right wing party clashed with counter-protesters and riot police.
Tensions in Switzerland have been escalating in the run-up to the October 21 general elections. At the center of the debate are the country's immigration policies. A campaign poster for the powerful right-wing Swiss People's Party shows three white sheep kicking away a single black sheep, with the caption, "To Create Security." Twenty percent of Switzerland's population is foreign born (many newcomers are from war-torn countries like Kosovo and Rwanda), and a staggering 70% of its prison population is as well. The Swiss People's Party, which holds the most seats in the country's Parliament, claims these figures are an indication that immigrants are prone to criminality and should be kicked out of Switzerland. But this simplistic logic brings about a chicken-before-the-egg question: Is the bigotry that is fueling Switzerland's current political climate also what is sending an inordinate amount of its immigrants to jail?
The U.N. has condemned the inflammatory poster and the Swiss People's Party proposal to deport foreign-born criminals and their families. All of this is set against the backdrop of pristine perfection for which Switzerland is famous. Zurich and Geneva rank first and second for cities with the best quality of life worldwide.
—Celia Perry
Maybe they are bigots because the 20% foreigners apparently cause 70% of the crime? The biggest racist nation is Israel(according to the UN) who does not even allow Palestinians to marry Israeli's due to racist laws. Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela's 2001 letter to Thomas Freidman stated:
"Palestinians are not struggling for a "state" but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were struggling for freedom in South Africa.
Thomas, if you follow the polls in Israel for the last 30 or 40 years, you clearly find a vulgar racism that includes a third of the population who openly declare themselves to be racist. This racism is of the nature of "I hate Arabs" and "I wish Arabs would be dead". If you also follow the judicial system in Israel you will see there is discrimination against Palestinians, and if you further consider the 1967 occupied territories you will find there are already two judicial systems in operation that represent two different approaches to human life: one for Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life. Additionally there are two different approaches to property and to land. Palestinian property is not recognized as private property because it can be confiscated.
The Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel. Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do. Palestinian Arabs have no place in a "Jewish" state.
Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children." Let us stop sending $10billion of taxpayer money to Israel every year. There is nothing we can do about the Swiss, but there is something we can do about the much bigger problem in Israel.
Wow Robert, that has not a single frickin' thing to do with the original post.
Above, we have comments from a victim of anti Israeli propaganda,so much so that he cannot get any facts straight whatsoever. Robert, like many other people, is a victim of a huge campaign. To quote the UN is a mistake for a start, lets face it,the UN is biased against democracy and certainly against Israel. Quoting the UN, Israel and democracy in the same sentence is like handing the microphone to a pack of barking dogs. By reading: www.boycottisrael.org.uk poor Robert might be able to douse his inflamed mind with some sense . If that does not work a cold bath is my suggestion.